17 Jun 2021

HR and standards
Learn about British and International standards in human resource management, and
our role in their development

Introduction
Standards are a defining feature of reputable professions and a vital part of
organisational life providing a ‘quality assured’ basis for ethical and effective practice.
Whether or not organisations have a dedicated HR team, they will at some point need
guidance on good human resource management practice in areas such as workforce
planning, recruitment, inclusion and diversity, learning and development, and human
capital reporting. British and International standards provide such guidance. They are
developed by experts globally, with input from key stakeholders. Organisations who adopt
these standards can improve their resilience and sustainability through responsible
people management practices.

This factsheet explains what British and International standards are and why they matter.
It briefly describes the British and International HR standards already published or under
development. It also outlines how the CIPD is involved in their development and looks at
their relationship with the law.

What are standards?

Organisations large or small, and regardless of their sector or field of activity, use British
and International standards covering a wide range of subjects, for example business
continuity, energy management, health and safety, and quality management. Standards
provide an agreed way of doing something, for example, the detailed technical
specifications for making something or the quality requirements for management
systems. Their aim is to provide a reliable basis for organisations and people to share the
same expectations about a product or service.

British and International Standards are developed through the collaboration and
consensus of technical experts in specific fields. The experts are brought together by

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national standards bodies, including the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the
International Standards Organization (ISO). These standard-setting bodies, and the expert
groups they set up, represent key stakeholders for the standards being developed.
Examples are government agencies, industry, academia, special interest and user groups,
and industry and employer bodies.

British and International HR standards provide organisations with a focus on specific

areas of professional practice. They complement the CIPD’s professional standards which
define what it means to be a ‘people professional’. By that we mean people working in HR,
learning and development (L&D), organisational development and other disciplines, not
just in terms of their knowledge and skills, but also their shared values and ability to make
ethical and evidenced-based judgements.

Why do standards matter?

Standards are important to organisations that seek to optimise compatibility,
interoperability, safety and quality of their products and services, and to ensure efficient
coordination of systems and processes across increasingly complex supply chains. They
matter to government as they provide a basis for public policies and amplify regulation.
They matter to the standards users because they ensure the quality, safety,
characteristics and specification of a product or service. The principal driver is economic
as standardisation creates value by building global interoperability which in turn support
global supply chains and international trade.

Why do HR standards matter?

In 2011, the British Standards Institution (BSI) set up a committee to develop national
standards in people management, and to contribute to international standards in human
resource management led by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The terms ‘human resource management’ and ‘human capital’ are used interchangeably
in this factsheet to reflect the ‘suite’ of standards being developed nationally and
internationally. These standards provide clear, constructive approaches, challenging
organisational leaders to develop organisational cultures that support good work, and
recognise the value of the people working for an organisation.

People metrics are essential to organisations and the decisions they take. Metrics
standards are designed to support a data-driven, evidence-based approach to making
people management and development decisions in a sustainable and principled way. As

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the demands from organisational leaders, shareholders and investors for analytical and
predictive insights increase, and as technologies and systems evolve and collect more
data to support the measurement of inputs, processes and outputs, it’s likely that our
future people management practices will also change.

There are also standards for organisations on governance, resilience and safe working
during the COVID 19 pandemic that will influence future organisational priorities.

British human capital standards

The British Standards Institution (BSI) publish British standards in human capital. It works
with experts representing employers, academia, and industry and professional bodies. As
well as the CIPD, this includes the University Forum for Human Resource Development
(UFHRD) and the Institute for Employment Studies (IES).

The suite of British standards on human capital provide a principles-based framework for
valuing people, inclusion and diversity, and learning and development.

The standards are all based on principles for valuing people in organisations:

People working on behalf of the organisation have intrinsic value, in addition to their
protections under the law or in regulation, which needs to be respected.

Stakeholders and their interests are integral to the best interests of the
organisation.

Every organisation is part of wider society and has a responsibility to respect its
social contract as a corporate citizen and operate in a manner that is sustainable.

A commitment to valuing people who work on behalf of the organisation and to

meeting the requirements of the standard is made and supported at the highest
level.

Each principle is of equal importance.

This principles-based approach supports organisations in making sound decisions about

investing and developing their people. The broad technical guidance provided in
standardised people management processes and practices is intended to help
organisations better understand their role in the network of relationships between
employees, contractors, volunteers, supply-chain partners and customers.

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These standards provide a framework for organisations to establish managerial
accountability and flexible, innovative and sustainable practices to achieve the full
potential of their people:

BS 76000 Valuing people in organizations (2015): This Management System standard

promotes a structured approach to help organisations assess how their HR policies
and practices promote long term effectiveness, shared values and social
sustainability to ensure the mutual respect and contribution of everyone who works
on their behalf.

PD 76006 A guide to learning and development (2017): This Published Document

provides an essential ‘roadmap’ to using learning and development to develop
individual potential and support organisational performance. It includes identifying
priority learning and development areas, innovative ways to meet learning needs,
and options to evaluate the success of learning practices.

International human resource management

standards
In 2011, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) formed a Technical
Committee (TC 260) to develop human resource management standards to offer broad,
coordinating guidance for organisations in aligning and streamlining their HR practices
for their own benefit as well as their stakeholders. These standards inform organisational
guidelines, processes, practices and systems in people management and development.
They are being developed by experts representing 30 member countries, including two
experts nominated by the CIPD to represent the UK.

These human resource management standards have been developed and published by
ISO TC260:

ISO 30400 Human resource management – Vocabulary: Presents terms and

definitions used in this suite of human resource management standards.

ISO 30401 Knowledge management systems: The requirements for effective

organisational knowledge management.

ISO 30405 Human resource management – Guidelines on recruitment: Effective

recruitment processes and procedures for anyone involved in recruiting.

ISO/TR 30406 Human resource management - Sustainable employability

management for organizations: Guiding principles for developing and implementing

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 sustainable employability policies.

ISO/TS 30407 Human resource management– Cost-per-hire: Measures to determine

the economic value of the effort taken to fill vacancies.

ISO 30408 Human resource management – Guidelines on human governance:

Guidelines on structuring an effective and responsive organisational human
governance system to foster stakeholder collaboration.

ISO 30409 Human resource management – Workforce planning: Guidelines to help

organisations respond effectively to their current and projected workforce
requirements.

ISO/TS 30410 Human resource management – Impact of hire metrics: Measures to

determine the impact of critical positions on organisational performance.

ISO/TS 30411 Human resource management – Quality of hire metrics: Options to

measure the quality of hire.

ISO/AWI 10667 Assessment service delivery (part 1 and part 2): methods for
assessing people in work settings.

ISO 30415 Diversity and inclusion: Provides a framework for implementing a

principled approach to inclusion and diversity to enable an organisation to
demonstrate its commitment to valuing people.

ISO 30414 Human resource management - Human capital reporting: Guidelines for
organisations on the transparent human capital reporting for internal and external
stakeholders. ISO 30414 is supported by metrics detailed in Technical Specifications:

ISO/TS 30421 Turnover and retention.

ISO/TS 30423 Compliance and ethics.
ISO/TS30425 Workforce availability.
ISO/TS 30427 Costs.
ISO/TS 30427 Skills and capabilities.
ISO/TS 30430 Recruitment.
ISO/TS 30431 Leadership.
ISO/TS 30432 Workforce productivity.
ISO/TS 30433 Succession planning.
ISO/TS 24178 Organizational culture.
ISO/TS 24179 Occupational health and safety.

Standards that TC260 workgroups are actively developing include:

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 ISO/DIS 23326 30### Employee engagement.
ISO/DIS 30422 Learning and development.
ISO /AWI 30426 Compensation system.
ISO/AWI 30434 Workforce allocation.
ISO/AWI 30435 Data quality.

The CIPD’s role in developing British and

International standards
We’re proactively engaged in directing and developing these British and International HR
standards. We lead the UK approach and make clear that managing and developing
people requires a strong ethical underpinning. We believe it’s important to share our
expertise, knowledge and our evidenced-based point of view to support people
management practices in smaller organisations and countries where professional
practice may be less well established.

Because we believe that people and their development are, and will remain, an important
source of value creation, our investment in these British and International standards is
strategic. The aim is to make sure the standards are principles-led, specific, consistent
and measurable, and benefit organisations, their stakeholders and wider society.
Currently two of CIPD staff and several CIPD members are actively involved in developing
and reviewing standards.

Get involved

Our profession has an important role to play as the experts on people, work and change -
so no matter what your interest in people management and development is, or where
you live and work, you can contribute your expertise.

All British and International standards work is done within a network of committees. It
needs the voluntary contribution and commitment of experts. To get involved in
standards work, individuals must become a member of a national or international
standards committee. This requires the support of a nominating organisation, such as a
trade association, professional body or academic institution, to represent their views.
Anyone interested in participating in a national or international committee should contact
the national standards setting body – see a list of participating member countries and the
contact details for each national standards setting body.

But anyone can comment on standards during the essential public consultation phase, by
registering. on the BSI standards development site.

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Standards and the law
Standards aren’t the same as regulation or legislation, but the technical detail of
standards often informs drafting of policy guidance, regulation and legislation by
governments.

Because legislation can change, standards rarely cite the law within their technical
content.

Organisations need to meet their legal obligations, but complying with a national or
international standard shows they take their responsibilities seriously and demonstrates
commitment to doing things well.

Useful contacts and further reading

Contacts

British Standards Institution (BSI)

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

ISO/TC260 Human resource management

Books and reports

MULVIE, A. (2018) Working with external quality standards and awards. London:
Routledge.

MULVIE, A. (2018) Working with external quality standards and awards: strategic
implications for human resource and quality management. CIPD Applied Research
Conference. Reviewed in In a Nutshell, issue 88.

WONG, W., ANDERSON, V. and BOND, H. (2019) Human capital management standards: a
complete guide. London: KoganPage.

Visit the CIPD and Kogan Page Bookshop to see all our priced publications currently in
print.

Journal articles

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ANDERSON, V. (2017) HRD standards and standardization: where now for human
resource development? Human Resource Development International. Vol. 20, No.4,
pp327-345.

CIPD members can use our online journals to find articles from over 300 journal titles
relevant to HR.

Members and People Management subscribers can see articles on the People
Management website.

This factsheet was written by Heather Bond, CIPD's nominated expert, and Wilson Wong,
Chair of the BSI Committee.

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